The Chicago Bears have been playing at Soldier Field since 1971, but they might not be playing there much longer. According to The Athletic, the Bears have entered a purchase agreement to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property, which is located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb that sits roughly 35 miles outside of downtown Chicago. 

The Bears said in June that they made a bid for the land because they wanted to explore the possibility of building a new stadium there. With the purchase agreement now in place, the Bears are now the proud owners of a 326-acre piece of land that will easily fit any new stadium design they might have in mind. In anticipation of the Bears buying the property, the Arlington Heights village board approved a zoning change in June that will allow a football stadium to be built on the land, which is currently occupied by a horse racing track. 

Despite the fact that the Bears appear to have one foot out the door at Soldier Field, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote on Tuesday night that she is committed to keeping the Bears in her city. 

One potential wrench that stands in the way of a move to Arlington Heights for the Bears is the fact that the team has a lease at Soldier Field that runs through the 2033 season. 

The Chicago Tribune found that the Bears would be able to get out of the lease in 2026 by paying a penalty of $84 million. If the Bears aren't ready to buy the lease out in 2026, the fee would actually go down each year through 2033. 

If the Bears started the process of planning a new stadium at some point next year and the stadium took four years to complete  -- from the design stage to the final day of construction -- they could cut an $84 million check to the city of Chicago in 2026 and start playing at their new stadium then. 

A renovation of Soldier Field in 2004 cost $690 million, according to the Chicago Tribune, and a renovation now would likely cost even more. One big downside to Soldier Field is that it's the smallest stadium in the NFL. The stadium, which was built in 1924, only seats 61,500 and due to spatial constraints, it's unlikely that number could ever be expanded by much.